Gula Invidia: Black Market (IX): A Fourth Accomplice

  --- Booker H. Freeman ---

  Past the barricade was a set of set stairs filled with a sweet smelling smoke and leading up to a bluish-grey cloud with beams of light strobing throughout. This in itself was not overtly notable given how it seemed at least in part to match the club style of the locals. What was notable however was the fact that (Envy: The walls are covered in more spell script.)

  The neon paint on the walls gave off an ever so subtle spell song, one that if he hadn’t known about the spell work on the barricade he would not have known about here.

  He idly traced a finger across the paint, seeing if he could decipher anything else.

  (Envy: More traps if I had to take a guess, though unlike the ones on the barricade these aren’t armed at the moment.)

  (Greed: Why burn their power keeping them running when they’re not in use.)

  (Sloth: Better to save it for when you’re being invaded.)

  (Gluttony: Or to trap your prey indoors.)

  (Pride: Tch, magic. Whatever happened to a good old fashioned murder machine?)

  Behind him he idly heard the Inferni pair bickering once more, namely Beez’el’s affrontment towards the fact that, “You didn’t have to give him your number!”

  “If it makes him friendly while we’re here then it’s worth it.” V argued as she used a file on one of her nails. “Besides I didn’t give him my actual number. Just a fake so that he doesn’t call the asshole on me until I get out of here.”

  Uncaring for this, Lydia instead focused on him, “You find something?”

  “This hall is a death trap.” Booker happily informed everyone, before started up the stairs.

  “Uh, the fuck you mean by that?” Beez’el hesitantly asked him as everyone stayed at the base of the stairs.

  “Don’t worry, they’re not armed… yet.” He grinned, knowing that it was probably something they were going to have to deal with before they could get out of here.

  (Sloth: Access key is either in the boss’s office or a security room. Depends on how much he trusts his guys.)

  Apparently trusting him (the foolish girl) Lydia was the first one to follow him, even if she did keep her eyes on the wall. “How uh, how dangerous is this hall exactly?”

  “Harmless right now, less so should we make an ill timed exit en masse, you understand?” He glanced at his young companion, her (wretched) grimace telling him she did.

  “Can you use your magic to disarm it?” Lydia quietly asked, her eyes shifting about.

  (Gluttony: She’s looking for witnesses.)

  (Pride: Which is possible based on those glass screens we found in the Smiling Man’s basement.)

  (Sloth: Making the work of ten men, one.)

  (Gluttony: Either way I don’t see anything.)

  His own eyes drifted across the walls trying to decipher what he could.

  (Envy: The magic is fairly simple but… it’s all connected. Disabling it isn’t hard but, set one domino off and the whole thing will go off. Meaning it’ll take time.)

  (Sloth: And someone will notice us poking at what we shouldn’t for that long.)

  “It’s possible, though not the wisest choice or the fastest at the moment.” He summarized for his companion’s sake.

  “Got it.” Lydia nodded, before glancing back at Beez’el and V a fair bit behind them. “So uh, what is the plan?”

  “As we decided earlier, I’ll fight while you and Beez’el investigate things.” He reminded her.

  “I know that I meant…” Lydia trailed off as they came to the top of the stairs and in turn the club proper.

  The smoke that had clouded the stairs was visibly prevalent all around, the large room they were in only vaguely recognizable as a train station of some kind. The floors now covered in some kind of colorful light tiles and a number of circular booths lining the neon painted walls, each booth with a hookah in the center of most.

  While the place wasn’t quite as crowded as V’s club, that was more due to how much space was here rather than a lack of clientele. Clientele that he vaguely noted as majoritively being humans with bestial mutations, a distinct difference from the population split he’d noticed everywhere outside of Ira Invidia.

  (Envy: Given their whole slavery scheme, is it really any wonder there are no Inferni here?)

  (Sloth: Which also means that Beez’el and V are both going to stand out.)

  (Lust: There’s a few serving girls that are Inferni, V could pass as one of them given her similar clothing even if she’s somehow more conservatively dressed. Beez’el though… there are no male Inferni here… Quick, take Lydia’s hoodie.)

  “Pardon my dear, we will be needing this.” He informed his young companion, as he promptly removed the hoodie Lydia had been wearing when he met her.

  “W-what?” The young girl blinked in confusion as he dragged her several steps back, before watching as he threw the hoodie at Beez’el.

  “Put that on, quickly now.” He ordered. “And pull the hood up.”

  “Why?” Beez’el (grotesquely) frowned, removing his own jacket before slipping on Lydia’s.

  “You’re going to stand out far more than I was hoping.” He explained, keeping an eye out for anyone who may over hear. (Gluttony: We’re clear.) “Miss V might pass as a waitress, you on the other hand will not.”

  “I don’t know, you’ve never seen me in a skirt. I could probably pull it off.” The male Inferni chuckled with an otherwise grim look, clearly understanding what he was actually getting as he pulled up Lydia’s hood before tossing the girl his jacket.

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  “Fuuuck.” V cursed, taking a look around the room just beyond them and quickly realizing what he had and what it meant. “I knew this was a bad idea! We aren’t even in the club yet and we’re in danger!”

  “Hey, hey! You said that guy at the front was cool with fighters. That he wouldn’t stop us here.” Beez’el reminded his companion. “As long as I keep my head down we can make this work.”

  “Keep your head down? You?!” V asked with no small amount of incredulity. “You’re the biggest show boat I know! No, what we’re doing is leaving now!”

  With that declaration, V grabbed Beez’el’s arm and started down the steps.

  “No, we’re not!” Beez’el growled, ripping his arm free of her grasp. “We’ve got shit to do here!”

  V rolled her eyes. “Come on Beez, you know the first rule of the streets. The Sin ain’t worth your life. You take the safe risks not the suicidal ones!”

  Beez’el growled once more, his eyes darting between V and Booker.

  Something the pink Inferni immediately noticed as her eyes narrowed. “Is he forcing you to come here? Shit, is this the trap they’re using on people?”

  “No. No! This is just… this is business V!” Beez’el hastily answered, raising both hands in a half panic before slowly gaining a determined look. “You can go but we’ve got to do this.”

  V ran a hand down her face. “Is… is this about the money you owe me? Because you’re worth more than that asshole. I’d happily wipe the debt if it’ll keep you from getting yourself killed. Or… or do you owe someone? I’ve got… some sin saved up, maybe we can work something out.”

  “No, Ver’osha, I…” Beez’el gained a pained grimace.

  “We’re, we’re trying to rescue the Inferni here.” Lydia interrupted, drawing all eyes to her. “That’s… that’s why he can’t leave. We’re here to free the Inferni they’re kidnapping.”

  “What?” The pink Inferni simply stared at the younger girl dumbfounded, her eyes slowly drifting over everyone. “You’re what?”

  “That is one of our goals.” He confessed. (Even if it isn’t quite the primary one.)

  (Gluttony: That would be the coming slaughter.)

  (Envy: Some of us prefer the other goal thank you.)

  (Lust: Yeah, assassination sounds so much more attractive than an ugly slaughter.)

  (Envy: ...)

  “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!” V cursed, before cursing some more as she began to pace side to side on the steps and rant at Beez’el. “Is this about your stupid Contractor thing? I’ve told you those heroic delusions of yours are bullshit. Contractors are not… fuck!”

  V dropped her face into her hands -which were slowly fisting in her hair- before pulling back and taking an audibly deep breath. As she let it out she turned upon Beez’el with a glare. “You are a fucking dumbass and you are going to get yourself killed.”

  Rather than being dissuaded Beez’el merely glared back. “You can say whatever you want but I’m not going to let these assholes kick our people while we’re down. Not without giving them a black eye at the very least.”

  The pair continued to glare at each other for another moment before V eventually turned towards Booker and asked, “What is your plan?”

  (Sloth: Might be for the best to focus on ‘freeing the Inferni’, if she knows we’re focusing on the boss that bit of focus on her might be enough to scare her off.)

  (Lust: Not if she’s doing this for Beez’el. Love is a powerful motivator~)

  “I’ll enter the tournament, and prove to be a more… lively contestant than they are used to. At which point, Lydia and Beez’el would make their way into the back. And upon finding the trapped Inferni work on breaking their chains.” He explained, not lying but still holding back the parts that didn’t concern her.

  “And how are you going to do that?” V pressed unaware that it was the same point that Beez’el had when they’d first discussed their options. “People can’t break contracts.”

  “Yes they can.” Lydia interrupted once more, before gesturing towards him. “Booker has a bunch of Contracts, and he says they can be broken and bent.”

  V gave him a skeptical look. “And how exactly do you break a contract?”

  (Envy: Let me convince her.)

  (Lust: Really? You’re not what I’d call… friendly.)

  (Envy: But I do know magic.)

  (Greed: I’ll workshop it with him.)

  (Lust: Ooh, we can make it a group project!)

  Leaning into the voices’ power, he tapped at his smile, gathering their thoughts before finally explaining that. “A contract is a magical geass fueled via a person’s willing agreement. The power of said agreement is determined by how aware of the contract’s terms the signer is. And in a similar manner, should it be coerced then there will be… added unwritten terms that the methods of coercion would stop.” He gave V a pointed look. “Which given their current treatment is something I very much doubt.”

  Rather than accepting his explanation, V continued to press. “That sounds nice, but I’ve seen plenty of dealmakers go back on their end of the deal and keep things going until they die.”

  “Ah, there is a slight caveat or two to the previous terms.” He admitted, with a carefree grin. “First, while the main power of the deal is through the willing agreement, this does not mean that a dealmaker cannot spend their own magic to keep the deal active. That said, keeping the implied number of contracts here active with one’s own power is highly inefficient and not sustainable without a level of power I very much doubt our foe possesses.”

  (Sloth: Otherwise we’re biting off something we very much cannot handle.)

  (Pride: Nonsense!)

  “Okay, let’s say you’re right for a moment. Both in all of this bullshit about Contracts, and about the boss of the pit not being strong enough to support them all.” V offered, humoring him for at least the moment. “If that’s the case what’s keeping all the Inferni from walking away the moment their contract runs out of power?”

  “That would be the second caveat, the chains not made from magic but one’s own mind.” He grimaced through his grin, the very concept disgusting him. “Even if the magical aspect of the contract runs out, if the signer still believes it’s active they won’t try to break it, fearful of the repercussions. And why bother trying to break it, when as your own words said ‘Contracts can’t be broken.’. Especially when no one tries.”

  V seemed to think about what he was saying, considering his words far more than Beez’el had during their previous planning phase.

  Something that even said red Inferni was now doing, if the growing frustration on his face was any indicator. “So what you’re saying is this bastard, he forces some poor Inferni into a contract, then fuels it himself until they quit fighting, and then he doesn’t have to do anything else once the contract fucking expires.”

  “That is my working hypothesis, yes.” He nodded.

  Beez’el snarled, before punching the wall and beginning to pace far more aggressively than his companion had. “That motherfucker! No, no, not just this motherfucker. All the motherfuckers! How many of them have been pulling this scam on us, and for how long?”

  “It’s hard to say, as much of this is circumstantial.” He confessed, less concerned with Beez’el’s aggression than the thoughts of the pink Inferni he was looking at.

  “Alright, I’m in.”

  Beez’el froze, his rage rapidly fading, “What?”

  “I’m in.” V repeated, with a determined look. “I still don’t trust you, not really, but you’ve got Beez working with you and I’m not going to let his ass go into the fire alone.”

  Beez’el blinked, eyes looking a little watery. “V, you don’t have to…”

  “If you’re not leaving, then I might as well be here to bail you out when things get fucked.” V told him, not quite meeting the other Inferni’s eye.

  “Ah, you tsundere bitch!” Beez’el (beautifully) smiled arms wide, right up until a fist crashed into his face. “Ah, you tsundere bitch!”

  Alright, now V has joined the party. (The background rolls went really well for you.) What is she doing?

  (Note: She’s a Social/Information unit, not a fighter.)

  []-Stay with Booker.

  []-Go with Lydia and Beez’el.

  How does Booker start getting attention?

  []-Start a bar fight.

  []-Bet big on himself. (More than he actually has.)

  []-V bluffs us up. (Requires V stay with Booker.)

  []-“Oh, it’s that guy…” (Requires V stay with Booker.)

  And while that happens how does everyone else get into the backrooms?

  []-Just try to sneak past while everyone is distracted.

  []-Maybe a guard is willing to take us to the prisoners. (For pity/a bribe.)

  []-Let V charm and distract a guard. (Requires V join Beez’el and Lydia.)

  []-Maybe V can talk to the serving girls? (Requires V join Beez’el and Lydia.)

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  A-Where does V go? (Hint: She's a social/info unit.) B-Booker's plan to start getting attention. C-Plan to get past the guards?